


Work Title*

by 000BowTie000



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Class 3 E (Assassination Classroom), F/M, I Don't Even Know, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22344868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/000BowTie000/pseuds/000BowTie000
Summary: First kiss, I guess.
Relationships: Akabane Karma & Nakamura Rio, Akabane Karma/Nakamura Rio
Comments: 11
Kudos: 91





	1. 1/2

It started as a joke. 

_You would be so cute together.  
You practically have a telepathic connection.  
You two were made for each other.  
Just go out already._

That last one always got him. It usually came from his classmates. Then there was Koro Sensei who always tried to ease the situation, wanting the privilege of match-making all to himself. 

“She’s practically you with tits and a blonde wig,” Maehara pushed, “plus, she’s fair game last I checked. Easy prey for you, just saying.”

Karma raised an eyebrow. “Prey usually doesn’t hunt you back.”

“She won’t make the first move, you won’t make the first move... See what’s happening here?” Isogai asked.

“Dial it back.” 

“It’s called ‘tension,’” Maehara stated, voice almost breaking at the end from holding back a laugh. 

“I don’t need anyone, and I especially don’t need this from either of you.”

“He says, unconvincingly,” Maehara said, now giving in to the laughter.

Isogai shook his head, trying to explain, “getting what you need and getting what you want are two different things. It won’t kill you to have both.” 

“Wish it would.”

Karma had to fight the urge to give them both a good blow to the face. He never asked for anyone’s advice. It was like his entire identity was formed around going it alone. Everyone just found it so fascinating to pry into the “mysterious tough guy” to get him to open up and go all soft. Yeah, that’s what this is.

He always hated the “will they or won’t they” trope. He didn’t want to deal all of the “I told you so’s.” But he was a man of his word. One way or another, he wanted to end the tension. He was ready to make the first move and either take the next step forward or two steps back. 

\-----

They’d never officially given themselves a title, they didn’t need one. This was enough. 

They had it down to a routine. Rio would show up earlier and Karma would walk in about 15 minutes after her so they didn’t appear to be arriving together. It was always a few longing glances during lessons, lingering moments of eye contact from across the room, intentional brushing of the elbows when walking by, and being sure to stand near each other during activities. It should have been enough to leave them feeling vindicated. But people talk. Soon enough, it spread and the teasing commenced.

Karma sat atop a boulder by their swimming hole, pretending to let Rio sneak up on him. This had become a normal occurrence, meeting before anyone else got to school just to spend some time together in private.

“Let me guess, you’re deciding whether to slap me with a back-handed compliment or push me in. On a scale of one to nailed it, how close am I?”

“Right on the head. Waiting for someone?” Rio asked.

“Nope. Party of one.”

“Make that two. Now scoot,” she said as she was now nudging her way closer to him, just enough that their knees touched.

“How’d you find me… before _he_ did?” 

They heard some rustling in the trees. Funny, considering it wasn’t windy outside. The yellow flash they saw wasn’t quite as stealthy as he thought he was.

“Can’t I want to see you?” Rio asked, ignoring their very obvious spectator.

She could never rest her head comfortably on his shoulder because of their height difference. So, she hovered her hand over his before letting it land. No reaction. It was like he had been expecting this or didn’t mind at the very least. Physical contact was still uncharted territory for both of them.

“It’s just tiring.”

“Do you… want to stop doing this?”

He pulled his hand out from underneath hers and opted for an “I don’t know.”

“Well, maybe you should figure that out before this goes any further.” 

That was probably the wrong answer considering Rio was now putting distance between them, figuratively and literally. What was really tiring him out was trying to decide if this was the answer to the faint ache of loneliness he had been feeling, which he had been trying to fill with good company instead. He was looking for some sort of endgame in what should be a means to an end. Maybe this wasn’t enough.


	2. 2/2

Karma reached his arm around Rio’s shoulder, freezing as if asking permission. She leaned back into him to grant it to him. He pulled her just a little closer with one arm and snuck the other around her as well, resting his chin on her shoulder.

“No, I don’t want to stop doing this.”

She put her hand on his shoulder, searching his face for sincerity. Sure enough, there it was. Getting caught up in the moment, he leaned his face down but paused about five centimeters away from her lips when he felt her hesitate. 

“You need a safe word or something?” he smirked. 

Rio looked down, ready to tap out. Her face started to contort in the way it’s not supposed to when you’re trying to hold back tears.

“Oh… I misread that, didn’t I?”

She shook her head.

“’It’s not you, it’s me?’” Karma tried to guess again.

“We have something good right now. Part of the fun of this is getting as close to the line as possible without crossing it.”

“Don’t you think we’re already too tangled up to go back? There’s still plenty of more steps to take from here. We haven’t even met outside the school grounds, let alone call ourselves anything. We don’t even know if we can call ‘this’ dating yet. We’re not as ahead as you might think,” he tried to reason with her. 

She mulled it over and before she knew it, half a smile started creeping up on her, thinking about where they could be even a month from now. He was right.

He sighed, turning her face back towards his own, almost close enough for their noses to touch. “Do you trust me?”

Rio nodded, trying to show that she understood.

“I need you say it.”

“Yes. I trust you.”

He watched her mouth before putting his hand somewhere between her neck and collarbone, thumb brushing her jawline, nothing in the way, no excuses. Once their lips finally touched, it didn’t quite feel how he expected. No fireworks, no butterflies. All he could feel was calm, comfort, even soothing. This was better. When he felt her reciprocate, he smiled into the kiss and put his arm around the small of her back, pulling her tiny frame against his. 

In a matter of seconds, they had pulled apart, but not enough to declare it over. They stayed just like that, preserving the moment. As absorbed as they were, it didn’t stop them from noticing a sneaky tap on both of their shoulders.

“Well…” Koro Sensei pestered.

“Don’t you dare,” Karma warned.

“Don’t look so nonplussed, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” he asked as he practically slammed their bodies together by the shoulder, “I could make a whole chapter out of this for the yearbook!”

He attempted to take more pictures of the looks on their faces when Rio tried to snatch the camera from him as Karma took an indirect swipe at him just enough to have Koro Sensei scrunch back on an out of reach branch with his signature laugh and taunting smile.

“Curiosity might actually kill the Cheshire cat,” Rio pointed at him.

“That’s not how that… Never mind, you’re not wrong though. Stuff like this has always made him weak.”

Karma slung his arm around Rio’s shoulder as they headed back to campus. He realized he was right about not needing her. He wanted her.


End file.
